Welcome to the GWTW Forum.Guests (non-registered users) can view the forum but are unable to post. If you don't have anything to say then why would you bother to register?One of the most popular sections of the GWTW Forum has long been the Swap Meet. A great place to sell old, seldom flown kites or to get great deals on used (gently flown) kites. Only registered users can see the Swap Meet section, let alone wheel and deal. 1000's (literally) of kites have changed hands thanks to the Swap Meet.There are several more benefits to being a registered user, but you'll have to join our little community to find out all the "secrets".Questions or concerns? Contact Steve ... just drop an email to: forum.gwtwkites@gmail.com

I find myself in need of a camcorder, and would appreciate the advice of a knowledgeable soul.

It will be used mostly for shooting kite videos, which will be posted online. It will also occasionally be used for videos to be shown on a smaller TV. Do I really need HD? I prefer flash storage. What other specs are important?

If you want super simple without any fuss, Go Pro HD, you can get one for about $299.00 and it comes with all kinds of mounts for either a helmet or other and will stick just about anywhere. Small, durable, even comes with a water proof case. The video's on it are awesome for a very inexpensive 1080 HD camera. You get about 2 hours of video on one charge - comes with battery. It fits in the palm of your hand.

I'm still slugging along with an old (and cheap) Sony cam that records to DV tape so I have no recommendations but I do have a question ... what are the minimum computer requirements for processing (in a reasonable amount of time) HD video's?

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Steve ... Ancient One-look to the sky with imagination, grasp the wind with outstretched arms and take flight

Here's a Youtube Video of some Kite Buggying using the Go Pro HD. It is not my video, just one that shows what the video quality looks like. Be sure to watch it in HD and full screen, very impressive for a tiny little camera:

The JVC Everio series are nice little camcorders with flash drive. You can get them @ Best Buy. They're super easy to use. Make good video. And have a direst to Youtube download feature. Oh, and they're in your price range.

Denny

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I always wanted to be a procrastinator..........I just never got around to it.

I'm very happy with my Sanyo CG-10. It shoots HD on a flash card, and costs ~$200 + the cost of the card. It blows the lens off my JVC hard drive camera. It will fit 1 1/2 hours on a 16gig card, but you need a battery for every 1/2 hour. 1 comes with it, an extra costs ~$20 from Radio Shack. It's not the best camera, I'm sure, but on a budget, it's a great camera...

No suggestion, I have not researched them personally since I am not in the market at this time. But I will say at your price point it's going to be hard if not impossible to find one with a viewfinder, just like with digital camera's. So whatever you are looking at make sure you take it outside into bright sunlight before purchasing or that they have a good return policy so you can bring it back when you discover you can't use it outdoors. The one we got takes great video's, a 3x optical zoom, flash memory, pocketable, everything we wanted, but we can't see if we are getting the shot we intend because the screen is completely washed out by the sun.

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"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see" John W Lennon

"People do not quit playing because they grow old, they grow old because they quit playing" George Bernard Shaw

Hey Ken,The Sanyo doesn't have a viewfinder, but the LCD screen isn't too hard to see in the bright sun. It also has a feature that allows 60fps that might be useful for capturing smooth motion. I've never had to use it, I think the 30fps does just fine. Here's a sample from my cheapie camera...

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